As interest has grown in the NBA over signing 7-foot-2 Iranian Olympian Hamed Ehadadi, the league office has sent a letter to its 30 teams instructing that they are forbidden to even discuss a contract with Ehadadi, Yahoo! Sports has learned.

In the letter, which was sent Friday, NBA legal counsel wrote: “It has come to our attention that representatives of Hamed Ehadadi, an Iranian basketball player, may be contacting NBA teams to discuss the possibility of signing Mr. Ehadadi to an NBA player contract.

“We have been advised that a federal statue prohibits a person or organization in the United States from engaging in business dealings with Iranian nationals.”

The NBA is applying to the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control for a license that, “if granted,” the league said, would allow teams to negotiate with the 23-year-old Ehadadi. Until then, no franchise is allowed to do so.

Commissioner David Stern invited the Iranian national team to compete in July’s NBA summer league in Utah, allowing the team a pre-Olympics tune-up. When NBA teams started to show an interest in signing Ehadadi, Stern had league counsel begin the process of clearing a path through this complicated circumstance with the U.S. State Department.

It's probably just part of an embargo that the United States has on Iran right now. It doesn't matter if it's a player or something else, if an embargo is placed on the country they're basically black listed until relations ease up.

It has nothing to do with bombing NBA stadiums or something along those lines.

It's probably just part of an embargo that the United States has on Iran right now. It doesn't matter if it's a player or something else, if an embargo is placed on the country they're basically black listed until relations ease up.

It has nothing to do with bombing NBA stadiums or something along those lines.

From what I understand that's absolutely correct. An embargo that's been in place since '95 evidently.

It's probably just part of an embargo that the United States has on Iran right now. It doesn't matter if it's a player or something else, if an embargo is placed on the country they're basically black listed until relations ease up.

It has nothing to do with bombing NBA stadiums or something along those lines.

I am sure that Stern and NBA would like nothing more then to have this kid, not only play but also, become a star in the league... just like Yao Ming... the more diverse the league the more diverse the audience and that equals larger interest... after all there is over a billion Muslims in the world.

Truth is that NBA is very visible and they don't dare break any rules which would make them look bad in the public and create a backlash.

So apparently Hamed Hadadi claims that he'll be a Grizzly by week's end. This should get interesting.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Payvand

Iran's Hamed Hadadi claims that he will become a member of the Memphis Grizzlies by the end of the week despite a statement by the NBA that teams may not negotiate with the center, according to Payvand.

"I will undoubtedly join Memphis Grizzlies by the end of next week. I met Memphis' officials yesterday to discuss joining the team," Hadadi said.

"I received many offers from European teams but just playing in the NBA is my dream," he added. "Hopefully, I can join Memphis as soon as possible without any problem."

However, the NBA's legal counsel has maintained that teams are not allowed to discuss business with Iranian nationals.

"It has come to our attention that representatives of Hamed Hadadi, an Iranian basketball player, may be contacting NBA teams to discuss the possibility of signing Mr. Hadadi to an NBA player contract. We have been advised that a federal statute prohibits a person or organization in the United States from engaging in business dealings with Iranian nationals," the counsel said.

Politics should have no place in sports. This was too extreme IMO. The whole point of sports is that it kind of gives us a release or getaway from the "real" world. When you start mixing the two, it takes some of the fun out of everything.